Thursday, July 16, 2009

marimekko fabric wall panels tutorial

the walls in our home are pretty bare. i think it's partially due to the frequent moving we have done, but mostly it's because i'm overly picky. our bedroom walls have always been exceptionally naked, and last weekend we finally decided to do something about it.

if you know me personally, or have taken a peek into my shop, you probably have noticed that i'm a fan of marimekko, a finnish design company. already possessing many marimekko home and personal items, we thought making some fabric panels would be a great addition to our home. plus, i always enjoy adding hand made touches.

our supplies:
2 art canvas (16"x20" and 20" x24" - could have also used wooden pieces for stretching canvas, but i was too lazy to look for them)
marimekko samovaari fabric (available in my shop)

light weight staple gun

the project didn't take very long. the hardest part was trying to decide how to place the pattern.

i cut the fabric and then overlocked the edges:

unfortunately i don't have a serger, but my sewing machine does have a basic overlocking stitch that's a bit fancier than the zigzag. an unnecessary step, but i wanted the back to stay tidy and not fray everywhere.

i ironed the fabric with a bit of starch before stretching it onto the canvas. i first secured the fabric to the board with some pushpins so that the design would fall exactly where i wanted it. i began stapling from one side, then alternated sides as the fabric stretched (taking care to tuck in the edges so they looked neat). shockingly, i did not hurt myself.

voila. my husband put on the necessary components and then hung them on the wall (not pictured).

the spots in that last picture are from my camera, not the wall. i think i'll have to add staples later, as some of the fabric is a little too loose. but overall, we're pretty happy with the results.